Iowa Takes the Plunge as Hawkeyes Open Season in Great Alaska Shootout

Iowa basketball Coach Tom Davis figures his team might as well just dive right in to the 1986-87 season.

The 10th-ranked Hawkeyes begin their season tonight against host Alaska-Anchorage in the Great Alaska Shootout, which also drew second-ranked Louisville and 17th-rated North Carolina State.

“It’s a good field,” Davis said. “It’s what you look for in your openers. It’s going to be a tough weekend for us.”

Louisville plays Northeastern, and North Carolina State meets Texas. Utah State and Washington play in the other opening-round game. Semifinals will be played Saturday with the final Sunday at Anchorage.

Iowa drew the tournament host Seawolves, a Division II school. This season, Alaska-Anchorage is 4-0 and has perhaps one of its best teams with 6-foot 10-inch center Hansi Gnad and 5-8 guard Jessie Jackson, who averages 27.3 points per game.

“Our scouts tell us Jackson is a guard that could hold his own in the Big Ten, no question,” Davis said.

North Carolina, top-ranked in the preseason poll, also opens its season tonight, playing Hawaii at Honolulu. Most of the ranked schools are playing in tournaments on the first big weekend of college basketball.

Fifth-ranked Nevada Las Vegas plays Temple, and Memphis State meets Western Kentucky in the semifinals of the preseason National Invitation Tournament in Madison Square Garden. No. 6 Georgia Tech plays Stanford in the opening round of the Fidelity tournament at Richmond, Va. Ninth-ranked Navy plays in the Cutlass tournament at East Lansing, Mich., against Utica.

No. 14 Illinois plays New Mexico State in the first round of the BYU-Hawaii Thanksgiving Tournament at Laie, Hawaii. And No. 18 Georgetown opens against Quincy in the first round of the Hilo Classic at Hilo, Hawaii.

Stetson is at No. 4 Purdue, No. 12 Auburn at Alabama-Birmingham and No. 13 Alabama at Northeast Louisiana.

Five ranked teams play Saturday with Montana State at No. 3 Indiana, Tennessee-Martin at No. 8 Kansas, Austin Peay at No. 11 Kentucky, Loyola, Ill. at No. 15 Syracuse and Indiana, Pa. at No. 16 Pittsburgh.

Louisville Coach Denny Crum also is glad to see his Cardinals starting out in tough tournament.

“Once they see what kind of pressure, enthusiasm and energy that teams we’re going to play will extend them, they’ll find out that they’re not near ready to play the top teams in the country,” Crum said.

North Carolina State already has played a game, beating Navy 86-84 last Saturday on a three-point goal by Kenny Drummond with 14 seconds left. Wolf Pack Coach Jim Valvano says he doesn’t like the three-point rule, “but I utilize the rule the best I can.”

Memphis State, which fired its coach and has been put on NCAA probation in both football and basketball, was a surprise in the NIT.

“I can’t control what’s in the past,” said Coach Larry Finch, who was an assistant to Dana Kirk before Kirk was fired. “I told the players to put everything behind them and make the best of the situation.”

UNLV Coach Jerry Tarkanian says his team is smaller than Temple, “but we have quickness.” Las Vegas already has beaten 19th-ranked Arizona and No. 7 Oklahoma this season.